William Goodyear’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Intro American football coach, newspaper publisher, and politician
Was American football player 
From United States of America 
Type Sports 
Gender male
Birth 21 May 1865
Death 18 June 1936
(aged 71 years)
Politics Democratic Party

William “Billy” Goodyear (May 21, 1865 – June 18, 1936) was an American football coach, newspaper editor, publisher, and politician in Whitman County in eastern Washington. He was the first head coach of the Washington State Cougars football team, holding that position for the 1894 college football season. Goodyear was also a newspaper publisher and editor. His newspapers included the Pullman Herald, the Pullman News, the Colfax Commoner in Colfax, Washington, the Palouse City News in Palouse, Washington, and the Pacific Farmers’ Union. He was also active in Democratic Party politics and was the party’s candidate for United States Congress in Washington’s 3rd congressional district in 1908.

Early years and family

Goodyear was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1865 to Hannah (née Tuttle) and George Goodyear. He was described as coming from “good New England stock,” and was a direct descendant of Stephen Goodyear, who served as deputy governor of the New Haven Plantation from 1643 to 1658. He attended public schools and graduated from Newton High School in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Goodyear attended Williams College and received his bachelor of arts degree there in 1887. While attending Williams, he was a member and president of the Delta Upsilon fraternity, editor of the Literary Monthly, and a member of the college football and tug of war teams.

One week after completing his degree at Williams College, Goodyear moved west and settled in Spokane, Washington (then known as “Spokane Falls”) in 1887. He entered the newspaper business as a reporter for the Spokane Falls Review (later known as The Spokesman-Review) from 1887 to 1889, eventually becoming the city editor. In November 1890, he was married to Neva Carleton Shurtleff at a ceremony in Warren, Rhode Island. They had a son, Trevor Shurtleff Goodyear, born in January 1893 at Palouse, Washington.

Football coach

In 1894, Goodyear became the first football coach at Washington State College (now known as Washington State University). He reportedly traveled from his home in Palouse, Washington each night to perform his coaching duties. Goodyear was not paid for teaching the team the elements of the game, and the school did not have a paid coach until 1900.

In the first game in the history of the Washington State Cougars football program, played on November 18, 1894, in Moscow, Idaho, Goodyear led the team to a 10–0 victory over Idaho. Eleven days later, the team suffered its first defeat, losing to the team from Spokane High School by a score of 18–0. Goodyear served only one year as the football coach, leading the team to a record of 1–1.

In October 1934, 40 years after the first Washington State football game, Goodyear and 12 of the players from the 1894 team were honored guests at Washington State’s homecoming football game.

Publisher and politician

Goodyear lived in Palouse, Washington in the early part of his career. In 1889, he purchased the Palouse News with partners P. H. Winton and Judge Norman Buck. Goodyear later became the newspaper’s sole owner. He owned the newspaper and served as its publisher until 1898. In November 1894, he was nominated by Grover Cleveland as the postmaster at Palouse, and he served in that position during the second Cleveland administration.

Goodyear later moved to Colfax, Washington. In 1898, he purchased the Colfax Commoner and became its publisher and editor. While owned by Goodyear, the Commoner became known as “the leading democratic newspaper of eastern Washington”. He was also active in Democratic Party politics in Colfax. When William Jennings Bryan visited the area during his 1900 presidential campaign, Goodyear introduced him as “the man whom the trusts hate, but the people love.” Goodyear was nominated as the party’s candidate for the United States Congress in 1902 but declined the nomination. In 1908, he ran for Congress, and was the Democratic candidate in Washington’s 3rd congressional district which included the entire eastern portion of the state. Goodyear was defeated by Miles Poindexter as Republicans swept the 1908 elections throughout the state.

In 1901, Goodyear leased the plant of the Pacific Farmer’s Union, the official publication of the Farmers’ Union, and the Pullman Herald and managed those papers as well as the Colfax Commoner for a time. Goodyear sold the Commoner in 1911 and moved to Pullman, where he purchased the plant of the Pullman Herald. He was the publisher of the Pullman Herald until August 1935.

In 1914, Goodyear was appointed as the receiver for the United States Land Office in Walla Walla, Washington. In 1918, he also became the chairman of the Pullman branch of the home service section of the Red Cross, providing relief to the homes of soldiers and sailors. During World War I, he was also the publicity director for the Liberty loan drives in Whitman County.

Goodyear was outspoken on public policy matters and was an advocate of, among other things, the direct primary system and Prohibition at both the state and national level.

Later years

At the time of the 1930 United States Census, Goodyear and his wife Neva were living in Pullman. Goodyear’s occupation was listed in the census record as a newspaper publisher.

In January 1935, Goodyear’s wife, Neva, died after breaking her shoulder in a fall while visiting their son, Trevor S. Goodyear, in Olympia, Washington.

In May 1936, Goodyear sustained a scratch on his toe that developed into gangrene. He was hospitalized in Colfax for several weeks, and doctors eventually amputated his leg just below the knee. He was discharged from the hospital and died weeks later at his son’s home in Olympia.

Head coaching record

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Washington Agricultural (Independent) (1894)
1894 Washington Agricultural 1–1
Washington Agricultural: 1–1
Total: 1–1
You May Also Like

Tommy Tuberville’s net worth, biography, fact, career, awards and life story

Tommy Tuberville Net Worth: Tommy Tuberville is an American college football coach and politician who has a net worth of $16 million. Tuberville was the head football coach at the University of Mississippi from 1995 to 1998, followed by Auburn University from 1999 to 2008. From 2010 to 2012 he was the head coach of Texas Tech. From 2013 to 2016 he coached from the University of Cincinnati. He was elected to the United States Senate in November 2020, serving Alabama. He began his term in January 2021. Tuberville was inspired to run for office by his father, a World War II vet and recipient of five Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart. His father instilled in him values such as patriotism, work ethic, and grit. Tuberville has been called the “common sense conservative.” He campaigned for lower taxes, gun rights, improving education, immigration reform, healthcare reform, battling against government overreach and fighting for the unborn, in addition to a number of other issues. Salary/Earnings: Financial disclosures released during his campaign for Senate showed that between 2006 and 2016, Tommy Tuberville earned $23 million. He also earned a $5 million buyout from Auburn. Early Life and Education: Thomas Hawley Tuberville was born in Camden, Arkansas, on September 18, 1954. He is the youngest of three children born to Charles and Olive Tuberville. He graduated from Harmony Grove High School in Camden in 1972 and went on to attend Southern Arkansas University. He graduated from there in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education. Career: After graduating from Southern Arkansas University, Tuberville took a job coaching football at Hermitage High School (Hermitage, AR). He spent two years as an assistant coach and two years as a head coach before heading to Arkansas State University, where he was an assistant football coach from 1980 to 1984. In 1986, he began work as a graduate assistant at the University of Miami. In 1993, he went on to become the defensive coordinator for the university’s football team, the Miami Hurricanes. During his tenure, Tuberville coached future Hall of Fame inductees Ray Lewis and Warren Sapp, as well as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He also helped lead the team to three AP national championships. In 1994, Tuberville worked as defensive coordinator for Texas A&M University, under the leadership of Coach R.C. Slocum. The team finished the season with a 10-0-1 record. In 1995, Tuberville became head coach of the University of Mississippi’s Ole Miss Rebels. He spent four seasons there and would go on to be named the AP’s SEC Coach of the Year in 1997. In 1998, Tuberville became the head football coach of the Auburn Tigers (Auburn, AL). Under his leadership, the Tigers captured eight consecutive bowl appearances, five SEC Western Division titles, one SEC Championship, and a 13-0 season in 2004, after which Tuberville was again named the AP’s SEC Coach of the Year, in addition to Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year, Associated Press Coach of the Year, Walter Camp Coach of the Year, Sporting News Coach of the Year, and AFCA Coach of the Year. In 2008, Coach Tuberville was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. He also became an ESPN and ESPNU studio analyst that same year. In 2010, Coach Tuberville became the head football coach of Texas Tech University. In 2012, he became head coach at the University of Cincinnati, winning the American Athletic Conference Championship his second year there. Tuberville retired in 2016 as one of the top 50 most winning football coaches of all time. He then went on to become a full-time member of the broadcast staff at ESPN. Personal Life: Tuberville married Vicki Lynn Harris, also from Camden, Arkanas, and also a graduate of Harmony Grove High School, on December 19, 1976. They eventually divorced. He met Suzanne Fette at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans in 1989. Two years later they were married. The couple have two sons. Controversies: In 2009, Tuberville and a business partner started a hedge fund that became the subject of a criminal investigation. His partner pleaded guilty to fraud while Tuberville maintained his innocence. He later settled a lawsuit filed by investors who had lost millions. In 2014, Tuberville’s financial dealings were once again put under a microscope, as the foundation he started — the Tommy Tuberville Foundation — was criticized for giving only a small portion of its money to charity while spending tens of thousands of dollars to stage annual golf tournaments. In 2020, Tuberville faced criticism over his inexperience in politics and his possible inability to be successful as a senator. He largely avoided campaigning, dodging debates and interviews. And, of the interviews he did participate in, he managed to botch several historical facts, including calling the three branches of government the House, the Senate, and the executive (they’re actually the legislative, executive and judicial branches); misidentifying what America fought against in World War II (he stated that WWII was about freeing Europe of socialism when in fact WWII was a global fight against fascism); and inaccurately stating that former Vice President Al Gore was president-elect for 30 days during the legal battle over a recount in Florida, despite the fact that neither Gore nor Republican nominee George W. Bush were considered the president-elect during the legal process. Tuberville also asserted in an interview that once in office, he planned to fund-raise for the two Republican senators from Georgia who were facing runoff elections; however, political fundraising out of a federal office building and using official federal resources for campaign purposes is prohibited by Senate ethics rules.
Read More